Strong points
- Every NFL broadcaster’s theme song has become ingrained with millions of die-hard NFL fans over the years, but which one does it best?
- Amazon Prime’s theme music for Thursday Night Football is at the bottom of the list due to its lack of story and the fact that it has yet to stand the test of time.
- The theme song for ESPN Monday Night Football, “Heavy Action,” has a rich history but doesn’t evoke the same level of excitement as the other songs on the list.
It’s Sunday evening. RedZone is finished. Just when you think you’re all exhausted, you hear, “I’ve been waiting all day for Sunday night.” It takes you right back. That’s the power of NFL theme music. There is no sport that gives you so much hype, so much so that you can just as easily watch a game on TV as in person. Sunday night blues are no longer a problem from September until early February, thanks to the NFL.
As you think about school or work the next morning, the voice of Carrie Underwood and the Sunday Night Football crew gets you back in the football mood. Each network has its own theme song, but which one has the best? Here’s a list of the five best themed music packages from the NFL’s five broadcast partners.
Due to the fact that this is the most recent coverage of the NFL, it’s difficult to place Amazon Prime’s theme music for Thursday Night Football anything other than at the bottom of this list. It just doesn’t have the story that other theme music intros have. It hasn’t had a chance to stand the test of time yet, not to mention that the TNF roster has been historically porous.
This is, however, a much improved introduction to the older version we saw with Pentatonix in 2016, and the theme definitely makes sense. Once Amazon Prime becomes a staple in NFL-watching homes, it could climb a bit higher on this list. But for now, it just hasn’t been on our screens long enough.
Arguably one of the most iconic theme songs, the cover of Monday Night Football has featured Johnny Pearson’s song “Heavy Action” for some time. Composed in 1970, it was first used for coverage of ABC’s Monday Night Football before becoming the official theme in 1989. A new recording of the song was put together when Monday Night Football was reintroduced in 2006 .
It’s an iconic theme song, but it doesn’t have the same impact as the other three on this list. There’s a lot of story behind this song, but it doesn’t get you as excited about a game as the other three.
ESPN has attempted to revamp its coverage, with Chris Stapleton, Cindy Blackman and Snoop Dogg creating a new intro song this season, a rendition of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” However, much like Amazon Prime’s theme music, it’s still too raw to enjoy like the classics on this list.
3 NFL on Fox
Of the two main Sunday afternoon theme songs, this one is the best known. This is the most commonly used soundtrack out of the five on this list for NFL-based TikTok content. British channel Sky Sports used it for many years during their coverage of the league before creating their own theme song. There is an element of comfort behind this song.
When you hear this tune on Sunday afternoon, you know you’re about to immerse yourself in football. Your Sunday has begun. Created by Scott Schreer and originally inspired by a 1989 Batman film, it was first used for NFL coverage in 1994 and has since been used on Fox’s MLB coverage from 2010 to 2019.
Other events such as USGA golf tournaments, the NBA on NBC, and Fox’s college basketball broadcasts have used this musical theme, but the network stopped using it for all non-related broadcasts in football in 2020.
2 NFL on CBS
Perhaps less well known than Fox’s coverage, but there aren’t many networks that tout you as much for a game as CBS does for its NFL coverage. The current theme song was first used in 2003, an adaptation of the song “Pompeii” by ES Posthumous. Since then, the song has been synonymous with news coverage on CBS.
Not only do we see it in the regular season, but we often see it used for conference championship games, regardless of which conference they are played. The musical theme makes you want to go into battle. It’s a war cry. It gets you excited for the game. It does exactly what all sports coverage music should do.
There’s no better theme music program than NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Based on the song “Wide Receiver” by John Williams, it’s what we hear when the players take the field, and it makes everyone feel like they’re about to watch something really epic.
On the most-watched show of the weekend, it’s the soundtrack most NFL fans love. It’s not just Williams’ song that makes up the bulk of NBC’s coverage. There’s also the intro “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night”. Originally based on a song by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, it was reworked by pop star Pink, who was the original singer, in 2006. Since then, it has been sung by Faith Hill (2007-2012) and now Carrie Underwood (2013). -here).
Thanks to Hill and Underwood, because they change the lyrics every week depending on what teams are playing. This is not an annual registration. When your team wins a game on Sunday Night Football, it’s always nice to hear NBC’s theme music at the end of the game. This sparks a warm feeling in the hearts of most football fans. There’s no better soundtrack in sports than what NBC offers, and there’s no sign of that changing anytime soon.
